Various global or local communications networks (the Internet, the World Wide Web, local area networks and the like) offer a user a vast amount of information. The information includes a multitude of contextual topics, such as but not limited to, news and current affairs, maps, company information, financial information and resources, traffic information, games and entertainment related information. Users use a variety of client devices (desktop, laptop, notebook, smartphone, tablets and the like) to gain access to rich content (like images, audio, video, animation, and other multimedia content from such networks).
The Internet, as an example of the global information network, is truly becoming an international entity. In this day and age, many of the web resources available on the Internet provide information in multiple languages. For example, the Wikipedia web resource contains articles in numerous languages, including English, Japanese, Russian, Italian, Polish, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, just to name a few.
Other web resources provide information in a single (or only a few languages). For example, Internet web page associated with TD Bank (Canada) provides information in English and French, the two official languages of Canada. The Internet web page of Raiffeisen Bank (Russia) provides information in Russian and in English. So, if a given user who speaks Mandarin, for example, but does not speak English, French or Russian (in this example) and which user wishes to browse the information of either of these resources, that user would need to find a way to translate the information provided therein into Mandarin.
There are several solutions available for on-line translation of words or texts from one language to another using various on-line tools. For example, most commercially available search engines provide on-line translation tools. For instance, Google™ search engine and Yandex™ search engine both have online translation tools for translating words and/or passages from one language to another. For example, Yandex.Translate service provides users an ability to translate in 26 languages, including predictive typing, spell-checking, dictionary and a number of additional features.
Some search engines also provide dictionary services. For example, Yandex.Dictionary service provides a user an ability to define a particular term (either in the same or in a different language). As a matter of general description, the dictionary service is configured to access several on-line sources (general dictionaries, specialized dictionaries, thesauruses and the like) and, in response, to user-definition-request to order the definition of the words contained in the user-definition-request from the several on-line sources. The dictionary service can then present the user results of such definition.
With reference to FIG. 1, there is depicted a screen shot 100, the screen shot 100 showing an example of a user interface 101 for providing the user the results of such definition. The user interface 101 is implemented in accordance with prior art techniques. For the sake of this illustration, it shall be assumed that the user is using the Yandex.Dictionary service and that the user is desirous of getting definition of the Russian word “”. The screen shot 100 depicts a portion of the web browser used by the user to access the aforementioned Yandex.Dictionary service, for example, by accessing slovary.yandex.ru web site.
The user interface 101 comprises a service identifier 102, which in this case identified Yandex.Dictionary as the service (in Russian: “”). The user interface 101 further comprises a service interface 104, the service interface 104 for enabling the user to input the user-definition-request. More specifically, the service interface 104 includes a command bar 106, where the user has entered the indication of the user-definition-request, which in this example includes Russian word “”. The service interface 104 also includes user action buttons, such as: an all languages button 105 (for selecting the language of the definition, for example, Russian to English or, as depicted in FIG. 1, for all available languages, which is depicted in Russian to read: “”), a find button 107 (for starting the definition look up process, which is depicted in Russian to read: “”).
The service interface 104 further includes a definition service button 108 (in Russian: “”), an encyclopedia service button 110 (in Russian: “”) and a home language button 112 (in Russian: “”). The definition service button 108 is for enabling the user to indicate her desire to use the definition sub-service of the dictionary service. The encyclopedia service button 110 is for enabling the user to indicate her desire to use the definition sub-service of the dictionary service using one or more on-line encyclopedia resources. Finally, the home language button 112 is for enabling the user to indicate her desire to use the same language definition or thesaurus sub-service of the dictionary service.
The service interface 104 further includes a definition service link 114 (in Russian: “”), which allows for the user to indicate her desire to use the aforementioned definition service to translate the user-definition-request entered into the command bar 106. The service interface 104 further includes a detail selection button 140 (in Russian: “”), the detail selection button 140 for selectively choosing more or fewer details associated with the aggregate output of the definition service (to be described herein below).
To complete the general description of the service interface 104 further includes a vertical services links panel 116, which in this illustrated prior art example includes links to other services available from the same provider as the one providing the dictionary service. The illustrated example, the vertical services links panel 116 includes links to: a general search engine, a mail service, a map service, an on-line store service, a news service, a dictionary service (currently active), a blog service, a video service, an image service and a more services button (all not separately numbered and respectively depicted in Russian as: “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”).
The service interface 104 further includes the definition service window 118 for providing, to the user, an output of the definition service in response to the user entering the user-definition-request into the command bar 106. The definition service window 118 includes a first definition portion 120, a second definition portion 122, a third definition portion 124, a fourth definition portion 126 and a fifth definition portion 128. Generally speaking, the content within the first definition portion 120, the second definition portion 122, the third definition portion 124, the fourth definition portion 126 and the fifth definition portion 128 are definitions of the word or phrase contained in the user-definition-request submitted via the command bar 106, the definitions being obtained from different respective sources.
As such, in the depicted example, the content of the first definition portion 120 is obtained from the “Russian-English General Dictionary. Lingvo Universal.”. This can be deemed to be the principle source (determined by various algorithms). In the depicted example, the detail selection button 140 has been actuated in the “detailed” mode and, as such, the first definition portion 120 (being the principle source) contains an expanded list of definitions (namely two) with the associated examples of use. As such, it provides two definitions—“resolution” and “decision; instructions”. It is also noted that for each of the variants of the definition, the first definition portion 120 provides respective examples of use: “to resolve”/“to append instructions on”. It is noted that if the detail selection button 140 was actuated into the “abbreviated” mode, the first definition portion 120 would provide two definitions without the associated examples.
The remainder of the second definition portion 122, the third definition portion 124, the fourth definition portion 126 and the fifth definition portion 128 are definitions of the word or phrase contained in the user-definition-request submitted via the command bar 106 obtained from other (secondary) sources. To that end, the second definition portion 122 presents information obtained from “English-Russian Dictionary of Computer Science and Programming”. The third definition portion 124 presents information obtained from “English-Russian Dictionary of Economics”. The fourth definition portion 126 presents information obtained from “English-Russian Dictionary of Law” Finally, the fifth definition portion 128 presents information obtained from “English-Russian Dictionary of Scientific Terms”.
It is noted that each of the second definition portion 122, the third definition portion 124, the fourth definition portion 126 and the fifth definition portion 128 provides a definition that includes “resolution”, just like at least a portion of the first definition portion 122.